Tag Archives: Paper Mario Sticker Star

The Nintendo 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. will include an exclusive stage based on the Paper Mario franchise – the first from the series.

“This ship (seen below) is the S.S. Flavion from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door…Since the stage is paper, it transforms when it folds over and opens up again,” said series creator Masahiro Sakurai.

Sakurai revealed the following imagves of the new stage via Miiverse last night:

What do you think? Personally I find it strange that the 3DS-exclusive stage was based on the Gamecube installment, and not Paper Mario: Sticker Star, which launched in 2012 on the 3DS.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS launches October 3; the Wii U version is slated for winter. Stay tuned for more details until then.

If you didn’t already notice, I’ve taken the liberty of spending most of my morning/afternoon updating the site – not only did I freshen up the Release Dates page, I also added some banner images to make the Reviews page look a little nicer.

I already published a few quick stories related to Bravely Default and an upcoming action game being developed for the 3DS by Treasure (Ikaruga, Guardian Heroes). I put up the “Looking Ahead” article for November 2012, and finally I published two reviews - Liberation Maiden and Code of Princess. Be sure to check those out.

Now, to the point of this quick little blurb: I have a few little pieces of information that I’ve stumbled upon this afternoon, but can’t be bothered to publish in unique posts:

No Paid DLC in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Satoru Iwata confirmed today that Animal Crossing: New Leaf will not contain “paid DLC”, stating that this would “…[create] a game in which you enjoy yourself more by the power of money,” which would “not be suitable.” Makes sense; Animal Crossing has never been about giving you power with money, only taking away every last trace of the in-game currency that you’ve worked so hard to earn.

Digital Version of Paper Mario: Sticker Star is Massive

If you were planning to download the digital version of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, make sure you’ve got plenty of space on your SD card: the eShop download requires rougly 522 MB, or 4,199 “blocks” of memory. Until Nintendo drops the price of the full download on eShop, I feel more than satisfied with a hard copy.

Check Out This Japan-Only Charizard 3DS XL

Since day one, I have had a problem with the “aqua blue” 3DS that I decided to purchase. I still kick myself every day for not picking up the black one, or waiting for the red one.

Anyway, if I lived in Japan, I’d be kicking even harder right now: check out this absolutely, ridiculously awesome special edition Charizard 3DS XL.

Apparently, getting your hands on one will be difficult enough: you have to win a lottery just to get the chance to buy one. Absurd. For now I’ll leave you with these images to drool over.

Editor’s Note: Just before the start of each month, I will “look ahead” at the upcoming games that are slated for release; then, taking into account the general level of anticipation and the “buzz” within the media, I will select a handful of titles (two to four) that could be worth checking out when launch day finally comes around. Every month, this column will pinpoint the “cream of the crop”, so to speak – just keep your eyes peeled for the games mentioned here!

For whatever reason, each year it seems the major publishers in the gaming industry are more and more hell-bent on bringing forth an onslaught of blockbusters in a two-week time span. This insane rush of “AAA” titles and unexpected surprises generally comes between the start and middle of November.

To say the least, 2012 isn’t playing by special rules…so I hope your wallet is prepared.

“Just…your money, send it directly to us. All of it.”

If you’re a console player, big stuff like Halo 4, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale & the Wii U launch are probably on your mind. If you’re a 3DS owner, this is well and good, because the November release calendar was gutted like a fish over the past few weeks. “AAA” titles such as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate and Animal Crossing: Jump Out were all set back to “2013″, along with Fire Emblem: Awakening.

There are still some pretty sweet new titles headed to both the eShop and retailers over the next few weeks, and as always, 3DStination would like to focus your attention on the following games as we look ahead at November 2012:

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (11/11)

I hate to sound like a “Daisy Downer” (har har), but Mario Tennis Open and New Super Mario Bros. 2 left me wanting more from my favorite Italian plumber, and I’ve ultimately spent most of the year looking forward to Paper Mario: Sticker Star, hoping for better results. After all, the Paper Mario franchise has always been held to a high standard, and Sticker Star has managed to impress with its apparently brilliant use of the 3D effects and the various gimmicks of the handheld.

I think Sticker Star will prove to be one of the 3DS’s top games of 2012, introducing some of the most clever mechanics seen on the handheld to date. I could be wrong, but if the following footage has anything to prove, Paper Mario will be in top shape when it launches in a few weeks:

Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion (11/18)

The 3DS installment of Epic Mickey, Power of Illusion, has been another highly-anticipated game since its appearance at this summer’s E3 showcase. Where Paper Mario looks to use the 3D effects of the system to go in new directions with its gameplay, Epic Mickey looks like a throwback to the Genesis era of platformers. Its lush 2D visuals and detailed sprites are just part of the charm; apparently the game design is brutally tough and reminiscent of classic side-scrollers.

I hope this one ends up being a big success when it launches in the middle of November; until then, I look forward to playing the upcoming demo version whenever it finally appears on the Nintendo eShop. Check out the footage below to see how this one looks for yourself:

Scribblenauts Unlimited (11/18)

Over the past month or so I’ve noticed myself becoming more and more intrigued by Scribblenauts Unlimited; I can’t really put my finger on a reason, but I can say that I think it looks gorgeous, and I am hoping to see the controls perform better than the original Scribblenauts on the NDS. That’s my only experience with the series, but there is a pretty good chance that I’ll cave in and check out Unlimited when it launches on the 18th – too bad 3DS owners don’t get a chance to play with the characters from Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda, recently revealed as exclusives for the Wii U version. Bummer! Check out the trailer below to see the game for yourself:

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (11/20)

So, this one’s a bit of a bummer: not including Sega’s original confirmation about the 3DS port of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, there doesn’t seem to be a single trace of information, any screenshots, gameplay footage (trailers or off-screen) or otherwise…anywhere on the Internet. Believe me, I’ve looked for anything I could find over the past several months – I’m not even really sure why I am so intrigued by this kart racer, but I’ve followed it as closely as I followed Mario Kart 7 in 2011. I admit that I don’t exactly expect Sonic to out-pace MK7, but I would at least hope that Sega could keep up the pace.

With that in mind: I want a solid roster of characters, a nice selection of tracks, local & online multiplayer features, and most importantly…the fewest possible shortcuts in order to make it all happen on the hardware, just as well as the console versions. That might be a lofty expectation, but I really don’t think it’s completely unfair. The 3D effect is a natural fit for the racing genre, so if done well, I really feel like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed could be optimized on the 3DS, rather than slipping behind as a “lesser port” of the big console version.

For now, I’m looking forward to the demo version that was promised during one of the recent Nintendo Direct broadcasts. Unfortunately, there’s no trailer featuring the 3DS version, so I’ll skip to the last of November’s notable releases:

Crashmo [*eShop] (11/22)

I was definitely charmed by Pushmo, one of the eShop’s earliest games to draw in a lot of positive remarks from a majority of critics. The sequel, Crashmo, looks to expand a great deal on the gameplay from the original: now players can move around in full 3D, combining the push/pull mechanics and 3D effect to solve the dozens (possibly hundreds) of puzzles found in the game.

Crashmo apparently features the same QR-based level editor, so fans of the original Pushmo can get straight to creating their own custom stages and puzzles. Check out the trailer below, and stay tuned for this one to appear on the eShop on the 22nd:

The Rest:

There are a few more games coming out in November; these may not be completely outstanding on paper, but you never know what to expect these days:

I took a trip to visit family over the weekend – lo and behold, I stepped away from the Internet at the wrong time, because I missed all the brand-new 3DS footage that went up shortly after the recent Nintendo Direct video event.

This edition of The Daily 3DS Trailers Report is absolutely loaded, and I’m not using that term lightly – scroll down the page for new details and brand-new gameplay footage for upcoming titles like Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Animal Crossing: New Leaf (formerly Jump Out), Fantasy Life, and Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Fire Emblem: Awakening – Trailer~

Whoa, check it out, there’s finally some English footage of Fire Emblem: Awakening. This one’s looking like one of 2013′s best-looking 3DS games, no doubt. Check out the new trailer from Nintendo Direct below:

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Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Trailer~

Nintendo finally changed the subtitle for the North American version of the upcoming Animal Crossing game for the 3DS; instead of “Jump Out” the game will be called “New Leaf”. Hopefully this 3DS installment will indeed turn a ‘new leaf’, check out the footage from Nintendo Direct:

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 3DS – Nintendo Direct Presentation~

Nintendo announced that the upcoming Pokemon Mystery Dungeon for the 3DS will feature paid DLC, with some sort of free DLC available for a limited time after the game launches. Check out the new footage of the game below:

Here’s another quick post with more of the details revealed in the recent “Nintendo Direct”; Nintendo has confirmed that it will be bringing some of its most popular first-party 3DS games to the digital service.

All four of these critically-acclaimed 3DS titles are currently available as digital downloads in Europe; North American consumers will have their chance to download them digitally on October 18.

What do you think? Are you happy with Nintendo’s seemingly-increased focus on the eShop service and the library of 3DS games?

Personally, after regrettably getting rid of my copy of Star Fox 64 3D, I have had some trouble finding it used – if there is some sort of Club Nintendo coin bonus (similar to New Super Mario Bros. 2), I may decide to invest in the digital version, just to avoid this problem again in the future.

The Daily 3DS Trailers Report will be posted on a regular basis, and includes all of the new trailers for Nintendo 3DS games found each day on the Internet.

Today’s 3DS Trailers Report includes almost half a dozen videos, so there is plenty of new stuff to check out this morning.

For the first-party fanatics, there’s a double serving of Pokemon with footage for both of the upcoming 3DS app/games, Pokedex 3D Pro and Pokemon Dream Radar. There is also footage of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, straight from PAX.

Over the weekend, I overlooked a pair of videos that are coincidentally based on eShop side-scrollers. First, Endgame Studios’ Fractured Soul looks pretty slick, and comes out in just over a week (9/13/12) on the eShop. Finally, the team that brought you Pokemon (Game Freak) is getting ready to launch an all-new platformer called Rhythm Hunter: Harmo Knight. Sadly, it hasn’t been confirmed for release outside of the Japanese eShop…at least, not yet.

Here are all of the embedded videos, mostly shared straight from YouTube:

I know this is going up a little bit late, but I’d like to share some of my impressions about Nintendo’s 3DS Showcase at this year’s E3 event in Los Angeles. A little bit of time has passed, and now that the dust has started to settle, it is a perfect time to take a moment to reflect on some of the announcements that stood out the most to me. These are just some very quick impressions and comments, but feel free to leave some feedback, and tell me what you think about the following 3DS games from E3 2012:

Fire Emblem: AwakeningThe 3DS installment of the popular strategy-RPG franchise is finally coming to America; unfortunately Nintendo waited until after E3 to say anything about it. There were gamers who wanted to see “new” 3DS games that Nintendo promised at this year’s E3, and Fire Emblem: Awakening would have been really nice to see. For now, I’m still in the dark about most of the details regarding the game – all I can see is that the graphics look fantastic, and should really shine with the 3D effects. Will we see multiplayer features or StreetPass functions?

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark MoonNintendo revealed some details about the sequel to the Gamecube cult classic, Luigi’s Mansion – first, the official subtitle, “Dark Moon”. There was some gameplay footage shown during the 3DS Showcase, all of which looked amazing – I was particularly intrigued to hear that Luigi’s ghost-hunting exploits will now include multiple mansions, with more of a mission-based game design. I can’t wait to see how this one uses the 3DS to give Luigi the proper game he’s always deserved – Nintendo confirmed a holiday 2012 release during its E3 press conference.

Scribblenauts UnlimitedI was never the biggest Scribblenauts fan, but I thought the concept was interesting – Super Scribblenauts improved on the ideas, and now it appears that Scribblenauts Ultimate has taken Max’s adventure and transformed it into something even bigger. It will be interesting to see if the 3DS and Wii U versions of Scribblenauts Ultimate have any sort of special connectivity – the console version was also announced for simultaneous release later this year.

Epic Mickey: Power of IllusionI never played the original Epic Mickey, or even Castle of Illusion, the Sega Genesis game that this 3DS title is based on. Regardless, Nintendo brought out Warren Spector during the 3DS Showcase, and that was a big deal: the legendary gaming icon broke down a lot of details about the 2D side-scroller, explaining how it sets itself apart from Epic Mickey 2: Power of Two. Both Power of Illusion and Power of Two are set for a November launch.

Paper Mario: Sticker StarIf there is one game that looks like it should use the 3D effects of the handheld very well, it’s the forthcoming installment of Paper Mario – which was officially dubbed “Sticker Star” during Nintendo’s E3 press conference. The sticker concept was later explained during the 3DS Showcase. Basically, players acquire a variety of stickers throughout the game; some can be used for special attacks in battle, and some can be used to trigger events that transform the environments, which look like cardboard cut-outs. Paper Mario: Sticker Star was also confirmed for a holiday 2012 release, though Nintendo provided no further specifics.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop DistanceKingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is very close to its North American release date (July 31), but seeing the trailer at E3 made the wait even more excruciating. There wasn’t much information that you would consider “new”, but nonetheless this Square-Enix action/RPG will inevitably go down as one of the biggest 3DS releases in 2012.

New Super Mario Bros. 2Before E3, I really didn’t care much about New Super Mario Bros. 2 – I had already accepted that I will probably end up buying it, but only because it felt more like an obligation, and because Mario games so rarely disappoint. Still, there was something missing, and I wanted to know more about the game. After the 3DS Showcase, things changed: Nintendo detailed the new features of the upcoming side-scroller, including the incredibly competitive Coin Rush mode (compatible with StreetPass!) and the co-op features (local only, but hopefully we’ll see Download Play). There was a trailer released on eShop after the E3 Showcase, and it gave me a better glimpse of the game – the graphics look nice, and I’m suddenly a lot more excited for the August 19 release. The only question that remains – should I purchase a retail copy, or download the game on the eShop?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of FateIf there is any third-party franchise that has consistently impressed on Nintendo handhelds, it is Castlevania. Konami’s classic series enjoyed some great installments on the Game Boy Advance and the original DS; it was only a matter of time before the first 3DS entry was revealed. This actually happened just a few days before E3, but Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, the sequel to 2010′s Lords of Shadow, was formally announced and thoroughly demoed during the 3DS Showcase. I was thrilled to see some gameplay footage; the combination of 2D platforming and the 3D combat from Lords of Shadow looked like a great mix. I was impressed by the quality of the graphics, which use a cel-shading technique along with the art direction from its predecessor. I liked Lords of Shadow quite a bit, and though I’d still like to see a “traditional” Castlevania at some point, I ended up being more excited about this one than any of the first-party 3DS games that were featured during the Showcase.

I will be putting up more substantial posts about all of these games soon, so check 3DStination over the weekend for more details and in-depth analysis as well as opinions about these upcoming Nintendo 3DS games.